IEA raises long-term oil outlook for Russia, cuts Venezuela's

Meanwhile, the IEA was more pessimistic on Venezuela's longer-term oil future because of its ongoing political and economic turmoil which has almost halved its oil production since early 2016. Crude oil production decreased from 2.35 million b/d in January 2016 to 1.22 million b/d in September 2018, according to S&P Global Platts data. Dwindling oil revenue, mounting debt, and falling investment and output has seen the flight of oil producers and service companies, and inflation is estimated by the IMF to have reached 1 million percent in 2018. Under the IEA's latest central scenario, oil production in Venezuela will bottom out in the mid-2020s before beginning a gradual recovery back up to 2.5 million b/d by 2040. More…